We have been taking in the suet feeders at night because otherwise, I fill them in the afternoon and they are empty by morning. That gets expensive since, along with everything else, the price of birdseed has gone up — and suet even more. The simple solution is to bring the feeders in at night, at least the suet feeders. I left them out the other night because the suet was getting stale.

It was after midnight yesterday. No one had remembered to bring in the suet feeders so I did what I usually do. I turned on the deck floodlights and went out to get the feeders. What I’d forgotten was that it was several hours later than I usually do this.

Sitting on the railing were three husky raccoons, bushy from winter and fixated on the suet. I’d filled the feeder only that aftenoon, but there were big holes in it. Raccoons have hands and for all practical purposes, thumbs too. They are intelligent and very clever at dismantling human stuff.

I am pretty sure these are the same “baby” raccoons of whom we got automated black and white pictures lthree years ago. In 2020, they were babies. The are not babies now. Each one was almost as big as Duke. They didn’t like being deprived of what they clearly had in mind for dinner. Or maybe just an appetizer.

Note. Pictures were all taken by an automatic camera with a meh lens.

We faced off. One of them rather slowly took his leave, a long slow stroll down the railing. One had dropped behind the fence and looked like he was planning on leaving. But the last one was standing his ground. Meanwhile, the Duke who is a total weenie about getting medication or anything vet or grooming-related, wanted to take them on. All three.

This was not a good idea. A 25-pound raccoon can gut a 45-pound dog. Long claws. Thick skin. Healthy fangs. I was trying to keep the Duke from exploding through the screen door and sharply rebuking him to stay IN the house. Duke was sure he could handle them. I thought that was a terrible idea.

Finally, the Duke contained, there I was, eyeballing a raccoon who didn’t want to leave. I could almost read his furry mind. “If I stay here, is she going to to run me off? That suet was so tasty…” He had a point. As much as I didn’t think the Duke should tangle with th\e furry banditos, I knew for 100% I would not win that battle.

Fortunately, he left. I love the outdoors, but I have a healthy respect for the creatures that live in it. Raccoons look friendly and often act friendly. They will take food from you. This doesn’t mean they are tame. All it means is they are hungry and as long as you are giving them food, you’re a friend. If you stop, not so much.

Categories: #Photography, Anecdote, Wildlife, #WildCreatures

Tags: #Photography, Marilyn Armstrong, wild things, raccoons